Incandescent Legacy
by DC Redux
Summary: Central City may be the new 'City of Tomorrow' but Barry Allen can't help but feel like he's standing stock still. That is, until a freak accident grants Barry super speed. After which, he must uncover the dangerous secret behind the creation of this modern utopia and prevent a hellish apocalyptic future from occurring as The Flash. [AU] [Part of the DC Redux Universe]
1. Unlock

**DC Redux Presents**

" **Unlock"**

 **An Eobard Thawne Story**

 **Written By James Brady**

* * *

Eobard's eyes drift open as he bathes in the glow of the open sky. His eyes look into the gaping ray of sunshine that looms through the haze of dark that surrounds him. He sighs as the black clouds swallow it again and he gets up from the path of ash he's found rest in. He looks back to his current situation and scans the surrounding area, rocks, rusty machinery, card board or something. He continues on through the wreckage of the old building scattering small piles of rubble with a long metal pole as he goes. He hears a whistle of wind and raises his head. His eyes fixate on an old large machine on the edge of the room. He wanders towards it and examines the rear, quickly finding a nut to unscrew and the metal grating of the machine pops open. He shines his flashlight inside as he scopes the machinery in search of anything that maybe useful. Fleeting glimmers of a reflective surface inside the old machine draws Eobard's attention. He reaches out and grasps the tiny shimmering object and brings it down into his palm. He sits back from the machine and looks towards his open palm.

A small golden key lies in his open hand, a lightning bolt logo emblazoned across it. Eobard's eyes suddenly widen in shock as he leaps from where he was sat and rushes down the road. He dashes through the streets of the dilapidated city, the wind in his hair and the dust by his heels.

"Mom! Dad!" He cries as he nears their make shift home.

Theodore and Angela Thawne look up from their small fruitless gardening patch to see Eobard nearing them.

"I've found it! I've found the key!" He shouts excitedly.

"No..." His father whispers under his breath as his son nears them.

"Let's see, let's see." His mother stammers in excitement.

The two gather around as they inspect the tiny object in their son's hand.

"Would you look at that..." Theodore mutters as his eyes rise from the key to meet his son's.

"Come." He says calmly as a beaming smile breaks out across his scarred and weathered face.

The family walk together through the streets of the crumbling city. Cars that either the Thawne's or raiders have looted for parts litter the roads of the city as a perpetual dusty wind surrounds them always carrying diseases on its tides cast inwards from where the ocean once was. Violent lightning storms that seem to target lonely travellers plague the area as the clouds block out any substantial light from the sun. The Thawnes remain in what was, Central City struggling for their every meal, desperately counting every day that they survive in this inhospitable wasteland. Those who have lived here either moved south in search of water or north in search of civilisation. The Thawnes remain.

They round a corner and face it. A faded golden statue of the 21st Century Superhero, The Flash stands in front of the once world famous Flash Museum at the heart of the once vibrant metropolis. They approach the titanium doors that have stood fast in the attempts of many to enter the building over the years. Eobard nervously steps forward and positions the key in the lock and slowly turns it. A low creaking sound is heard with a rumble of machinery before the titanium doors slowly begin to be lifted into the air. Cautiously, the family enter.

To their shock the building is almost perfectly maintained intact. Artefacts from the Flash's time travel adventures and visits to other worlds are perfectly preserved in their display casing. Huge images of the Flash and his various super hero team ups are proudly hung on the walls. They pass a silver helmet with wing tips on the sides and a yellow and red smaller version of the Flash costume. The weaponry of the Flash's nefarious Rogues gallery are kept in sealed casing next to their costumes. Theodore Thawne brings out his crowbar and smashes the casing taking Captain Cold's Freeze gun.

"Dad!" Eobard protests.

Theodore taps the trigger and out comes a bolt of high concentrated ice that freezes itself to the wall.

"Woah.." Eobard mutters.

"This could come in handy." Theodore laughs.

The family continue on through the museum as they come to a massive mural of the Flash Family each hero having signed their signature on the image. Eobard stops and stares at the image as he looks at each of the smiling faces all running together in unison as a family with the Flash himself leading the charge. He turns to see his mother and father scavenging through the museum behind him before looking back to the Flash family mural. On the wall next to the mural is a sign saying, _Cosmic Treadmill_.

Eobard follows the sign into a large dark room. He switches on his flashlight as he comes face to face with the machine. Held on a small pedestal the gleaming technological wonder of a machine made into a simple treadmill now covered in dust. Eobard steps towards the machine and reads the information sign.

 _The Cosmic Treadmill was a device created by the Flash in order to help him transcend time and space in order to travel backwards in time, at super speed. Created with the help of Ted Kord this is just the prototype and never actually allowed The Flash to successfully time travel. He was generous enough to donate it to the museum._

"What've you found there Eddie?" His father calls to him.

"It's a time machine. It doesn't work but it says that it was a 'pro-to-type?' Whatever that means."

"A time machine?"

"Yeah."

"My god do you know what this means?!" Theodore exclaims.

"What?" Angela asks following behind him.

"We could reverse all of this!"

"Reverse? What're you talking about?"

"Don't you see?! If we can get this machine to work we can go back in time and stop all this from happening! The Crisis can be averted, we could make a better world!"

"Theo, do you even know how this machine works? For all you know this could kill you."

"I've been repairing machine out of scrap all my life in this town Angela, this is just another one of them and if I die, isn't it better to have tried to save all those lives than to do nothing? We can do what those good for nothing heroes failed to achieve! Those fools allowed this all to happen in the first place and now it's up to us to fix their mistake. To fix the Flash's mistake."

"We don't know if the Flash is to blame for this, it's just speculation, it could've been multiple factors."

"The Flash was the hero of this city, Angela and look what he let happen! Look how they praised him erecting monuments in his honour and a building to show case his achievements. He was a God to these people once and now there is no one else to worship him because he let them die. He should have protected this city and he let this happen. Even if he's not to blame for the Crisis he's to blame for letting it destroy this city."

"We should do it." Eobard chirps in. "We should be the heroes the Flash couldn't be."

Theodore smiles at his son.

"We're not heroes, Eobard, we're just people who are going to do the right thing."

"Okay but this is going to take a lot of work." Angela sighs. "Let's make history."

Hours later the Thawne's have finished studying the Treadmill and Eobard is left alone in the museum looking through old magazines about the Flash's powers. He looks up to see the Flash's costume hung up in a show case. He gets up and walks over to it. He breaks the glass on the show case and opens it and takes the Flash costume down. He looks over the fabric carefully studying the design. He looks into the masks' holes in the face to see, what looks like, yellow. He sticks his hand into the mouth hole and begins to pull the costume inside out. He looks down at the now reversed version of the Flash's costume now primarily yellow with a red lightning bolt with a black background and hangs it back up in the showcase and stands back to look at his handiwork.

He takes the Flash key out of the lock and the titanium steel gates close behind him. He looks into the dark skies and sees the clouds rumble again red lightning crackles in the skies above.

* * *

 **Eobard Thawne will return in DC Redux's "Incandescent Legacy" by James Brady**

 **Coming Soon**


	2. Counting Seconds

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 1**

 **"Counting Seconds." By James Brady**

* * *

"I know I've been saying this for ages now but I'm coming to visit you, Iris."

"This time, you mean it?" Iris West smirks at Barry via her laptop screen.

"I do. I've saved up enough money. My boss is finally letting me get some time off. I've got one more late shift tomorrow night and then I've got a full week off work. I'm going to come and visit you, I promise this time Iris."

"Really?"

"This time Iris. Really." Barry says sincerely, his eyes transfixed on his monitor.

"Okay. It's just I've been really slammed with orders recently with Comic Con coming up but I should be okay for... this weekend?"

"It's a date," Barry says holding up his Smart Phone to the monitor for Iris to see. "Look, I'm putting it on my calendar right now."

"Buy the flight tickets then I'll get excited Mr. Allen." She says playfully.

"Okay okay. I'll do it as soon as my payday cheque comes in tomorrow."

There's a moment's silence as Iris glances away.

"You don't seem that excited," Barry asks solemnly.

"I am Barry but..." She stutters as she inhales gently. "It's just you're going to be here and then you going to be back there again and that'll be it for God knows how long and... I just wish we could have something more permanent."

"I know Iris. I don't want to be working in the crummy drug store all my life. I want to go to LA, I wanna see the country, heck, I wanna see the world, Iris. It's just that where I'm from, people don't usually leave. The economy here is so tightly controlled and jobs are so strictly governed by Wells and his parliament, people don't just up and leave. It's the way the Central City Project works and I'm nothing but a cog in it y'know."

"You've still got the single best economy and highest life expectancy for any city in the country, a crime rate of 0%. That's a pretty good clock to be a part of. I've seen so many of my friends die from crime or drugs in this part of LA. They've been trying to implement it here for so long but just can't. Whatever it is that works in for Central City is probably Mayor Wells. There are no politicians here that could implement something like that."

"At least you don't feel trapped Iris. Look tell me about your day, I bet it's far more exciting than mine."

"Okay, so where do I start..."

The next morning

10:13 Mr. Singh's watch reads. 'Late again.' He thinks to himself.

Barry Allen bursts through the door and almost collapses as he enters the small drug store.

"You're late Allen." Singh sighs. "Get up stairs you've got a prescription list the length of my arm to start putting together!"

"Mr. Singh I'm so sorry. I must've slept in I-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Allen. People need these pills, don't let them down."

"Yes, sir," Barry says profoundly.

* * *

 **Central City University**

The excited graduates all watch as a suit wearing, tall gaunt man with dark brown hair takes the stage. His face creases into a pearly white smile as his hands stretch out to clutch each side of the podium. He leans in gently to the microphone.

"Thank you, CCU!" He announces. "While here in Central City we thrive on regulation to keep our proud city strong, today is a day where we break that mould and celebrate the hard work you have put in that has led to your achievement. Each and every one of you has chosen a path with which you wish to now serve the City that your parents helped build and will carry on in their footsteps. You are the first generation raised entirely within the borders of Central City and you shall not be the last. Central City is the future ladies and gentlemen and you should be proud to be the first fruits of that future and that future can only be made by those willing to work together to achieve it. While being an individual is important, being a community is what makes progress. One day everyone will enjoy the unity that we feel every day in Central City but until that day comes we have much work to do. I am proud to say that each and every one of you is a Central City Citizen and when we go out to share our gift with this world you should wear your Citizenship with pride!"

A shower of academic hats plunges into the air as the crowd goes wild cheering the tall man as he steps away from the podium. The school dean approaches him and shakes his hand earnestly before taking the podium himself.

"Thank you! Mayor Wells for your truly inspirational words here today, now if all students could take to the front field to take our 2016 CCU leavers photo."

Wells smiles as he leaves the stage and approaches his car which is opened by a security team member. He slides into the back seat as the car's engine starts up.

"How did the speech go, Mayor Wells?" His driver asks.

"It was fine, Alonzo. Just get me back to the office." Mayor Harrison Wells says, his tone taking a steely quality.

"Yes, sir," He replies.

Wells takes out his phone and swipes away the list of appointments he has scheduled today to open up his weather app.

"Clear skies again..." He thinks. "Good..."

* * *

 **That evening**

Barry says goodbye to Mr. Singh as he comes down from the upstairs lab to lock up for the night. He flips the closed sign and begins pulling down the blinds when he hears a sudden knock at the door. He goes to the door to see Leonard Snart, a short haired built man wearing a light blue shirt and jeans, at the door. Barry pulls out the keys and opens the door letting Snart in.

"Hiya Barry. Sorry to bother you just as you're closing up but my sister really needs her heart medicine."

"Hey, it's no problem, Leo. It's Lisa right?" Barry asks hopping over the counter as he looks through the prescription boxes.

"Snart, yes."

"Ah hah. Got them." Barry says turning around with the small box handing it to Leonard.

"Thanks, Barry, you're a life saver. I was meaning to swing by earlier to grab them but I've been kinda preoccupied with... stuff at the moment y'know." Leonard says as he leaves the drug store.

"I hear you, man. Hope Lisa feels better soon hey. Maybe you should consider getting her checked into the hospital."

"I've been looking after her my entire life man, I know her condition better than any doctor could." Snart says with a slightly aggressive tone in his voice. "But I appreciate the concern."

"Oh uh. No worries..." Barry says as Leonard starts off down the street.

"Yeah." Snart replies.

Barry finishes locking up, counts up the money in the cash register, puts it in the safe and heads back up to the lab.

He sits down at his desk and begins to look under the microscope only for him to get a text. He checks it.

 _Iris 3 West: Already missing our Skype chat :[ x_

He replies: _Won't be long now Iris. Been missing you for too long now. x_

* * *

 **Later**

Harrison Wells stands on his balcony looking down on the city from his manor house on the hill. He takes another sip of gin as he hears the soft padding of bare feet behind him.

"What're you doing up so late huh? Come back to bed." Jane Wells says as she puts her arms around her husband's shoulders.

"Look up at the stars." He says putting his arms around his wife's waist.

"The light you can see now was originally produced during the 16th century around the time of William Shakespeare. It's almost as if we're now bathing in his light."

"I mean sort of," Jane replies.

"Consider the way his work is still so intrinsically woven into our society. That's how I wish to serve the world, Jane. I don't want to be someone who tried and failed to achieve something. I want to be someone who's light goes on without him and bathes those far off in the future. I want to feel like everything I've done here in Central City will matter."

"And it does Harrison. You need to stop thinking about how your work will be appreciated by people you'll never meet or never know. You should focus on what's in front of you right now."

Harrison turns and looks to his wife.

"I'm. Sorry." He sighs. "I just-"

Jane kisses him passionately before taking him by the hand and leading him back inside. As the sliding door closes behind them the first drop of rain hits the stone balcony.

* * *

 **Drug Store**

Barry is carefully weighing out measurements for capsules of antibiotics when he hears his phone buzz again. Barry gets up and opens the phone to see the message from Iris reading:

 _I love you so much x_

Barry smiles and goes to reply when he hears a rumble of thunder over head. Barry gets up to see a massive dark cloud rolling over the city from the window and with that a lightning bolt tears through the night's sky over Central City.

* * *

 **Make sure to check back in two weeks for the next exciting chapter of Incandescent Legacy and stay tuned to DC Redux for bold re-imaginings of all your favourite DC characters!**

 **Batman: Knight Errant, 21** **st** **Century Super-Man, Wonder Woman: Man, Woman, Bullet, Green Lantern: The Book of Oa, Green Arrow: KIA and coming soon, The Outrageous Adventures of Aquaman!**


	3. The Road Not Taken

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 2**

 **"The Road Not Taken" By James Brady**

* * *

Leonard Snart climbs the steps to her bed room as he carefully holds a cup of water in one hand and 3 pills in the other. He knocks gently on the door and hears her voice call him inside.

"Heya sis. Time for your meds." Leonard says as he enters the darkened room.

He looks to the bed to see his fragile sister, Lisa. Her delicate body is plagued with tubing up her nostrils and small plasters hold needles into her skin as they feed her nutrients and record her vitals on a machine next to her bed which keeps her heart beating. Her ghostly pale face brightens up as she sees her brother approach.

"Thank you, Leo." She whispers as she tries to sit upright.

"No no. Stay where you are Lisa. Just relax okay?" Leonard says as he pulls up a chair next to her.

"Oh give up. I can sit up, can't I? I'm not dead yet." She croaks smirking cheekily at him.

"Oh, c'mon you know I hate it when you say that." Leonard groans.

"I'm just teasing you. You know I'll pull through like I always do." She rests her hand on his calming his nerves.

"I know dummy. Now take your meds will ya? Gonna give me a heart attack for once."

The two share a chuckle before she tosses back the pills with a slug of water. Leonard looks to the window as he sees the rain start to pour onto the city.

"Damn. So much for clear skies then." Leonard mutters.

"So today, I was rooting through some of mom's old things," Lisa says reaching over to the bedside table. "And I found the old poetry book she used to read to us as kids. Remember?" She asks handing Leonard the book.

He looks at the title reading, _Collected Poetry of Robert Frost_.

"Oh gosh, yeah she'd always read this to us before bed wouldn't she?"

"You'd always beg for 'just one more ma!'"

"Don't tell me you actually wanted to have to go to sleep this whole time?"

"Read me the one I've book marked would you?"

"Like a bed time story?"

"Like old times." She corrects him as she pulls the covers up to her chin.

Leonard clears his voice.

 _Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  
And sorry I could not travel both  
And be one traveler, long I stood  
And looked down one as far as I could  
To where it bent in the undergrowth;_

* * *

 **Central City Hospital**

Doors of the A&E swing wide as nurses pull Barry Allen into the surgery. His completely charred body sends off flecks of lightning with the movement of the stretcher as he violently spasms in sudden shockwaves of speed coursing through him. They wheel him into the surgery as the doctor calls for the nurses to hold down the patient as he reaches for a sedative. The nurses go for Barry's arms only for one of them to suddenly get thrown into a cabinet drawer and the other one to be shocked by a bolt of lightning.

"What the hell is going on with this guy?!" The doctor shouts as he pulls out the sedative syringe.

He approaches Barry and is able to stick the tiny needle into his neck. The spasms slowly begin to calm down as the nurses to recover. The doctor slowly moves towards Barry as the spasms die down only for the sedative to suddenly be spurted back into the doctor's face from the hole made by the needle. Barry begins to spasm more wildly than ever with bolts of electricity sparking out of his body. The lights in the doctor's surgery begin to flicker on and off.

"Alright everyone out! We can't operate on him until this... episode has concluded!" The doctor announces ushering the nurses out of the surgery, quickly locking the door behind them.

Barry is left alone in the surgery as his body rockets out of control. He falls to the ground his entire body caught in a violent flurry's of super speed as bolts of lightning scatter off him.

Barry's mind is a fractured mess as he sees flashes of somewhere, another time. He sees buildings crumbling and empty with the skies constantly darkened by a huge thundercloud. Familiar places turned to ash and rubble with the constant crackle of death on the wind. He sees two shallow graves below the crumbling statue of a man but can't make out who the man is.

 _Then took the other, as just as fair  
And having perhaps the better claim,  
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;  
Though as for that the passing there  
Had worn them really about the same,_

* * *

 **Mayor Wells Manor House**

Harrison Wells sits bolt upright in bed as his chest heaves heavily. Sweat pours from his forehead as he shivers wiping his brow. He sits on the edge of the bed and turns on the bedside light as he tries to calm himself down. His countenance turns black as he looks up to the window where he sees rain clouds as far as the eye can see pouring over his city. He reaches for his phone and opens an app that projects a hologram into the air before him. The hologram is a well detailed time line stretching from 1990 till the early 2110's. He stares at the timeline for a moment before tapping on the year 2016 where it reads, First Appearance of The Flash.

 _And both that morning equally lay  
In leaves, no step had trodden black.  
Oh, I kept the first for another day!  
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,  
I doubted if I should ever come back._

* * *

 **Central City Hospital**

The doctors wait patiently outside of the surgery they've locked Barry in each of them looking grimy into the small window to see what's happening to him.

"Yeah, I've just been looking through pages of notes on lightning bolt victims, nothing like this has ever been seen before." One of the nurses says looking down at his phone.

"The readings they were able to take from him in the ambulance on the way over here are astonishing." The doctor mutters as he flicks through the patient notes the paramedics printed off from the heart rate monitor. "This guy's vitals make it seem as if he was dying and being resurrected in the same moment and if that was then, what on earth could be going on inside him now?" The doctor mutters to himself.

"Whatever it is, I'm not going to let it destroy my reputation." One of the nurses says vehemently. "I'll never graduate to general practitioner if I've got some crack pot story about a guy becoming some kind of... human lightning bolt. We can't let these readings get out or we'll be laughed out of the medical profession."

"Indeed, I can't risk loosing this job." The doctor concurs. "Anyway, by the looks of things he seems to be calming down."

The nurses peer into the surgery where they see Barry lying on the floor shuddering ever so slightly. The doctor and the nurses unlock the door and slowly step inside as they approach the slowly shivering body of Barry Allen. As they get closer his body slowly begins to shiver and shake more and more until he begins to rise slowly into the air. Huge lightning bolts now leap from his body crashing into cabinets and the walls. The lights flicker violently as Barry continues to shoot off bolts of lightning as he rises higher into the air. The doctor and the nurses all watch in horror as the lifeless body levitates before them. The bolts of lightning start to get worse as the vibrating of the body begins to cause gusts of wind to start picking up around the surgery throwing books and cases off the shelves. The flickering lights get worse and worse until, in one last gush of energy from Barry, everything goes black!

 _I shall be telling this with a sigh  
Somewhere ages and ages hence:_

* * *

 **Mayor Well's Manor House**

Harrison suddenly feels his wife turn next to him and he quickly closes down the hologram. She slowly rises from lying on the bed to look up to her husband with the bedside light on.

"Hey... you okay?"

"Ye-yeah. I'm fine." Harrison sighs.

"Did you have that nightmare again?"

"Yes," Harrison says as he throws his head back before slowly falling back into bed. "There was something chasing me again... This monster was chasing me still but this time," He turns to his wife and looks her dead in the eyes. "I out ran it this time and now it can't ever hurt me ever again."

"Good," Jane smirks at Harrison. "You're safe now. We're safe. Now, can you get some sleep?"

"Yes." Harrison reaches to turn out the light when it suddenly flickers on and off before going out completely.

Harrison's brow furrows as he curses the electric company when he notices the same thing happening over the city. He gets out of his bed as he sees all across the city lights flickering on and off before all going out completely.

 _Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —  
I took the one less traveled by,  
 **And that has made all the difference.**_

* * *

 **The Snart Apartment**

Leonard Snart sleeps soundly in the chair opposite his sister's bed. She lies calmly breathing as the machine attached to her heart begins to flicker on and off again before going off as the EMP blast hits their apartment block.

* * *

 **Central City Hospital**

As the lights in the city go out the light around Barry's body suddenly begin to light up as exorbitant amounts of energy suddenly begin pouring into his floating body. It casts over his charred burnt body like a paint brush on a canvas. Suddenly the bright energy around him vanishes and Barry falls to the ground. The lights in the surgery all come back on as power is restored all over the city. The doctors are in a state of utter shock as they watch Barry closely.

"Oh my god."The doctor mutters to himself as he looks at Barry's completely healed body without a sign of charring on his skin.

The nurses slowly lift his now still body back onto the stretcher. They check his pulse, completely steady.

The doctor looks gravely to the two nurses beside him. "Not one word." He says sternly.

* * *

The morning

 **Snart Apartment**

Leonard's heavy eyelids begin to lift as the early morning sun reaches him. He rubs the sleep out of his eyes and puts the book back on the bedside table. He steps towards Lisa and places his hand gently on her forehead to feel it's completely cold. His hand shoots back as his mind begins to race. He frantically checks her pulse and checks the machines' readings. His lip quivers as his eyes begin to flood with tears. He takes her limp hand in his and sinks to the ground beside her bed as she lies there as gently as ever.

 **Check back soon for another chapter of The Flash: Incandescent Legacy.**


	4. Off The Grid

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 3**

 **"Off The Grid"**

 **By James Brady**

* * *

"There he is!" Nora Allen says as she bursts into the hospital ward.

Henry and Nora Allen approach Barry's bedside holding a small bag filled with chocolates and get well soon cards. Barry looks up from his book as he hears his mother's voice.

"Hi Mom, Hi Dad!" Barry says wrapping his arms around the two from his bed, his arms still covered in bandages hiding nothing.

"Only you could get hit by lightning while being inside couldn't you son?" Henry jokes as he pulls up a chair.

"Talk about bad timing right? And it was meant to be clear skies too." Barry laughs.

"Oh cut the jokes you two. He could've died!" Nora frets.

"Mom, I'm fine. It wasn't a direct hit. I've suffered no nerve damage and I should be fine to leave tomorrow! All things considered, I couldn't feel luckier."

"Well get ready to feel just a little luckier champ." Henry says pulling an envelope out of his pocket and giving it to Barry."Y'know that trip to LA you've been yakking about forever?"

"You didn't!" Barry says excitedly gripping the envelope purposely having to slow himself down. He tears it open and finds the plane tickets inside.

"Oh my god, thank you!" He cries hugging his parents close. "Thank you so so much you guys."

"You've earned it son, now don't go doing anything silly when you're there, and only go when you're 100% better again okay? Don't want you hurting yourself when you're trying to impress that Iris girl eh?" His dad jokes.

"Okay okay. I'll try and be patient." Barry says.

"You're such a good boy Barry. We love you so much." Nora says hugging him close.

"Love you guys. I should get hit by lightning more often huh?" Barry says cheekily.

"Well as they say lightning never strikes twice in the same place." The doctor says as he approaches the family. "If you're feeling well enough to go home today Mr. Allen, I'm happy to discharge you."

"Really?" Barry asks excitedly.

"Yes, you seem to be totally back to normal." The doctor says giving Barry a knowing look.

Barry nods back recollecting their agreement.

* * *

 **City Hall, Mayor Wells' Office**

"It was just a problem with the gridding network, it seems the unexpected storm hit the city and it caused a shockwave to be emitted via the grid that causing the temporary power outage. It's nothing to be worried about, Senator. It was just a... glitch." Harrison explains.

"Listen Wells, I've put everything behind this project. We're close to having the Central City project being taken into consideration in congress to be implemented in other cities. Find whatever weakness there is in your system that allowed this outage to happen and shut it down okay?! I'm not about to let a storm ruin my political career." The senator yells over the phone.

"Of course sir. I've got men working on reinforcing the grid's wiring as we speak. Don't worry."

"Good because if you screw this up for me Wells, I'm taking you down with me, hear?"

"... Yes, sir. I'll have my assistant inform you as soon as the problem has been fixed."

The call ends uncomfortably. Harrison leans forward and presses his face into his hands sighing audibly. Harrison opens the Picture News website to see the recently uploaded article title;

 _Lightning Struck Citizen Discharged From Hospital._

Harrison zooms in on the picture of Barry Allen, next to the headline, and with a yellow highlighter slowly draws a lightning bolt across his face. Harrison gets out his phone and opens an app.

"Authorisation code: OZY."

" _Authorisation accepted. User: Harrison Wells._ " The phone's Ai responds.

"Start a priority alpha digital surveillance on the citizen, Bartholomew Henry Allen. I want to know everything about this guy." Harrison orders.

* * *

 **Central City**

The Allen's car pulls up outside Barry's apartment.

"Thanks for the ride. I'd best go rest up." Barry says as he goes to the car door.

"Good thinking, Mr. We're both so relieved you're okay Barry. I don't know what I would've done if- if-" Nora's voice begins to tremble.

"Mom. I'm fine. The accident it made me realise how much of life I'm letting pass me by y'know? I need to break the rut I've been in and catch up." Barry holds up the plane tickets. "And this is where I'm going to start."

"Barry, you're not going now are you?"

"I'm getting on the next plane to LA. I'm not waiting any longer. I'm going to take this trip and when I get back I'm making a change. I'm gonna go somewhere and be something."

"Barry think about Central City. You've got a duty to this place. We work together here Barry we don't abandon each other." Henry says sternly.

"Central City doesn't need another nobody pharmacist, Dad. I'm outta here."

Barry gets out of the car as his parents watch him.

"Barry you can't! You don't know if you're healthy again or-" His mother pleads.

"I know I'm tired of listening to you two," Barry says as he storms into his apartment block.

He takes the lift to his apartment and walks inside. He begins to carefully pack a small selection of clothes, his toothbrush, a book, his phone charger into a small rucksack. He puts the plane tickets in the rucksack also thinking, " _Just in case_ " to himself.

He puts on his laptop and messages Iris saying,

 _Sorry, something came up and I've been off the grid these past two days. You still on for this weekend?_

She quickly replies;

 _Oh, no worries. Yes! Do you have your tickets?_

Barry replies;

 _I've got something better. So much to tell you. See you soon x_

Barry turns off his laptop and goes about putting on an old leather jacket, a pair of cycling shorts, and running shoes. He grabs a compass out of his desk. He finds a bike helmet and swimming goggles and puts them in his bag. He then leaves his apartment locking the door behind him before leaving the building.

Barry hails a cab and heads to the edge of town near the border gates that keep careful track of the few vehicles that come in and out of the city. He puts on the bike helmet and swimming goggles out of his rucksack. He poses like the runners the starting blocks and breathes gently before he takes off.

 _C'mon. C'mon. C'mon._ He thinks to himself.

His body turns into a bolt of lightning that speeds up the road to the border and out into the world. Barry looks over his shoulder to see Central City escape from sight as he laughs to himself before he runs into a brick wall.

Barry slowly gets to his feet as he dusts himself off.

 _Wow... that's... okay so that's some kinda force field thing when I'm running? Helpful. Alright, let's try that again._

Barry takes the compass out of his pocket and faces West.

 _Iris, here I come._

Barry sets himself up again and in a shock of lightning, he's off.

 _Spent the last two days trying to figure out my powers from a hospital bed, learning to slow down my thinking so I could listen to people without it feeling like it's taken hours, figuring out how fast I can move without someone noticing, learning how to control my movements and trying to resist the urge to bolt out of there to LA right away. Considering how fast my thought process is at the moment those impulses took a long time to hold back but now I'm free. Free from the city that's kept me for so long, free from my crappy job, free from my parents fretting over me every chance they get, free. Whatever this power is that the lightning bolt gave me, it's pretty damn awesome._

Barry's feet rocket him across the country showing him everything all at once like a flip book of every state he passes. Barry runs and runs until he stops feeling earth under his feet. Barry looks down to see blue under his feet as he realises this he begins to slow down and starts to feel intense heat all over him.

He collapses into the ocean quickly putting out the flames that had began to cover his body due to the intense friction that he suddenly began to feel. He swims to the surface and looks back to land to see the shining city lights of LA behind him. He swims to shore and collapses on the beach feeling completely wasted. His stomach curdles under sudden intense hunger pains as he tries to remove his extremely hot clothing. Luckily no one is on the beech allowing him to change into a spare pair of clothes.

 _Okay, need to find some better-running clothes and I probably should've considered a number of calories I'd be burning on this run._

Barry dries off his water logged phone at super speed and texts Iris;

 _Hey, what're you up to atm?_

Barry puts his phone in his pocket as he enters the city and orders 16 meat lovers pizza's from a local takeaway and eats them all in under a minute. He receives a text from Iris reading;

 _Whole Foods, trying to find something good for dinner. Why?_

Barry orders a ham and pineapple pizza and opens up Google Maps to find the nearest Whole Foods in the city to find 11 different results. He pays for the pineapple and ham pizza and runs to each Whole Foods in the city until he finds the one Iris is shopping in. He sees her down the aisle looking at the different soups and his heart almost stops. He runs out of the market finding himself suddenly out of breath. He checks his hair in his phone and tries to smell his breath.

"HeyIristhisgoodfordinner?nonononono... Heygurlpizzagoodfordinner?nonononono..."

He practices what he's going to say a couple thousand times more, only to realize that he's talking to himself faster than the speed of sound in the parking lot. He tries to straighten himself out when he hears,

"Barry?"

He turns around trying to appear as cool as possible holding the pizza in his hand. She stands before him, her dark brown hair illuminated by the street lights above them as he remains transfixed on her deep brown eyes. Barry's mind races as his eyes trace every inch of her tanned face before he snaps out of it.

"... Pizza? It's your favorite, ham, and pineapple." Barry suddenly says.

"... Yes. Thank you..." Iris says as she smiles at him.

The two slowly break into laughter.

* * *

 **Central City, City Hall**

Harrison Wells sits in his office his phone projecting the hologram into the air before Harrison as he looks through information on Barry Allen, details of his life, his family. He looks through Barry's tweets, and facebook posts, private messages, texts sent years ago and nothing.

Suddenly the hologram cuts out as the phone returns to its normal mode as it informs him on an incoming phone call from his wife. He sighs and accepts the call.

"Hi, honey, look I'm really busy right now dealing with the power outage problem from a few days ago. Can I call you back?"

"I just wanted to ask when you think you'll be home."

"It's probably going to be a late one. Look text me in future."

"I did you've not replied to any of my texts. Harrison, what's gotten into you? Tell me. Ever since the power outage you've been so on edge. It was just an accident, it's not your fault."

"The fact that it was an accident is the worst part, Janet. That means that it can happen again and that is unacceptable understand?"

" _BLINK! BARRY ALLEN LOCATED!"_ Harrison's phone suddenly alerts him.

"What was that?" Janet asks.

"It's nothing. I'll call you back." Harrison says quickly ending the phone call. He opens up the hologram again as it brings up a selfie on 's Instagram account of Iris and Barry smiling together. The caption reads;

 _#Reunited #AnditfeelsSOGOOD BarryAllen956_

He looks at Iris West' Instagram account bio reading; _Los Angeles_. Harrison looks at the time; 5:16. He checks the Picture News article, published at 4:03.

"And now he's in LA..." Harrison mutters to himself as he slowly clenches his fist.

* * *

 **Later**

"Think I should change the hashtag I put on this?" Iris says mulling over her recent Instagram post as the two lounge around on her bed.

"Nah it's cute." Barry insists. "You want some more pizza?"

"So much better than the leak and potato soup I was planning on having," Iris says taking another slice.

"So much better for your cholesterol also." Barry jokes.

"I know right?!"

"So, I know I was supposed to come see you tomorrow but I wanted to surprise you."

"And surprise me you did. Lightning bolts super powers and everything."

"I know it's quite the bomb drop."

"Well, it's not like I've been thinking about what it'd be like to have super powers every day of my life. I'm just jealous that you got them before me."

"Before you? You got any plans that I'm not aware of?"

"Oh come on, Barry. Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Super-Man of Metropolis, The Bat of Gotham. It's only a matter of time until everyone's gonna is running around with super powers. I'll link you to this Daily Planet article on the subject, it's really interesting."

"I'm not a superhero. It was just an accident y'know."

"Y'know some say there's no such thing as an accident. Some may say that the lightning chose you."

"It's electrically charged areas of a cloud that hits the ground sometimes, it's not exactly deliberated my worthiness. If anything I should be dead."

"And yet here you are. Lemme show you something I've been working on for fun."

Iris hops over to her closet where she keeps the majority of her cosplay costumes which she sells online and brings out a red latex body suit with a golden lightning bolt logo on it.

"Try it on, superhero."

"You've got to be kidding me." Barry says collapsing back onto the bed.

* * *

 **Central City, City Hall**

Harrison Wells looks darkly at the Instagram post, his mind racing with possibilities. He was hit by lightning, the power shorted out all over the city soon after, he was discharged from hospital mere days later with not a scratch on him and now he's gotten to the West Coast from the East Coast in just over an hour...

Harrison picks up his phone and makes a call.

Unknown Location

In a dark room 6 men sit around a table playing cards and enjoying cigars. On a table away from the card game is a small burner phone. The phone rings. One of the men gets up to answer it as the room goes silent. The man puts the phone to his ear and listens intently for a minute or so before putting the phone back down again.

He turns back to the men. "Some punk called Barry Allen needs whacking it seems gents and apparently this looks like a job for us Rogues."

* * *

 **Check back soon for the next chapter of Incandescent Legacy as the Flash faces The Rogues!**


	5. Superhero

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 4**

 **"Superhero"**

 **By James Brady**

* * *

The men leave their card game, pull out their weaponry and put on their brightly coloured armour before exiting the room via a spinning electric portal. The portal opens in the 21st century in the Central City suburban district at house number 341B, the home of the Allen's.

"We're in position boss." The man wearing a white hood over his armour says via a telecom device in his ear.

"Good. Send up the gas cloud." Harrison replies over the earpiece.

The hooded man nods to the man in the green and yellow armour. He takes out a wand-like device and begins to call down a massive fog from the wand itself which immediately begins to engulf the suburban area.

* * *

 **Meanwhile in LA**

"Well...this is the worst thing I've ever worn by a long shot," Barry says entering Iris' bedroom.

She immediately keels over on the bed laughing at Barry in the skin tight outfit which clings to every part of his body like cello tape.

"I never know how it's gonna turn out but... hoo boy, am I glad I didn't go into the outfitting phase with that one!" Iris says giggling uncontrollably.

"Alright alright, you've had your fun making me look like a doofus!" Barry says removing the costume at lightning speed leaving him in his briefs and socks.

"Finally." Iris laughs. "For the fastest man in the world, you're kinda slow. Did you even realise you were in my bedroom yet?"

"Eh, I had an inkling." He says climbing onto the bed.

The two begin to kiss as the sun sinks slowly into the ocean and night reins.

* * *

 **Central City, City Hall**

Harrison Wells makes his way into the broadcast room at City Hall as assistants rush around behind getting things ready for the broadcast. Harrison sits in front of a camera as the live feed starts. The network connection is made and with that Harrison is being broadcast live to every device on the Central City network in the city.

"Dear citizens of Central City. I've just been made aware of the situation unfolding in suburban zone C which appears to be a gas leak from a local power junction. The gas could cause severe tissue damage from direct contact. I warn that all citizens stay inside for the time being until the situation is contained by our hazmat team which is being deployed to the area as we speak. If you are in suburban zone C now go inside immediately and lock all doors and windows there you will be safe."

* * *

 **Suburban Zone C**

Nora and Henry Allen watch the broadcast intently on their TV as they look to the gas cloud that surrounds their house now.

"We need to call Barry and tell him we're okay, he'll be worried sick," Nora says reaching for her phone when they hear a rapping at the door and a voice calling to them.

"Please please please! Open up, I've been caught in the attack! You've gotta help me!" The voice yells in agony.

Nora and Henry look at each other before going to the door. Nora checks the door's camera feed before going to open it. They see a man in an orange and green armoured suit looking at the mirror.

"You don't look like you're in pain? And what're you wearing?" Nora asks over the intercom.

"No no, I'm fine. The whole thing's a hoax see?" A voice from behind them says.

They turn quickly to see the orange and green man standing before them holding some kind of sci-fi gun towards them.

"Get away from the door or I'll shoot. Go into the living room." The man demands.

The shocked couple put their hands up and do as he says. They all enter the living room where the man sees a mirror hanging on the wall. The man shoots the mirror causing it to suddenly begin to bend in on itself melding and twisting. The Allen's watch in shock as out of the mirror begin to appear, men, also dressed in colourful armour and holding different weapons.

"Who the hell are you people?!" Henry Allen asks in shock.

"Nice work." A man dressed in white and blue armour with a white hood on says to the orange and green man as he enters the room. He readjusts his glasses as he looks to at the Allen's.

"I want you to call your son, Barry and tell him that if he doesn't come to the house immediately we'll kill the two of you and if you make any attempt to escape we'll kill you anyway. Get Barry here, alone, and the two of you will be fine."

"No! You won't kill my son!" Nora says defiantly.

"We don't want to kill your son. He's just... stolen something that doesn't belong to him." The blue and white man replies.

"Barry could be on his way to LA by now. He said he was leaving today-"

"Then you'd best hope that he's not left yet." The blue and white man says removing his sci-fi looking gun. He adjusts the gun's settings and points it at a fish tank behind them and starts to gently pull the trigger. The water in the tank quickly begins to freeze over as the fish are frozen solid before the entire thing cracks under the intense cold, shattering all the fish like glass. The Allen's watch in horror.

"Or you'll have that to look forward to." He says holstering his freeze gun.

"... I won't endanger my son." Nora says defiantly.

"... Guess we'll do this the hard way."

* * *

 **Iris' apartment, LA**

Barry's sighs as he and Iris lay together under the bed sheets talking for what feels like days in total bliss until Barry hears his phone buzz.

"I'd better check that text," Barry says reluctantly.

"Don't be too long. I'm getting bored already." Iris replies reaching over and kissing him gently.

Barry eventually gets up to check his phone. He opens the text sent from his mom's phone to see a selfie taken by the blue and white man. Behind him in his family home are the Allen's forced to their knees with the men's sci-fi guns pointed at them. Nora has been crying and Henry has a nasty bruise on his face. Barry receives a follow-up text saying;

 _Come alone now or they die. If you call the cops they're dead._

The text is followed up by a lightning bolt emoji.

Barry squints at the image trying to comprehend what he's seeing. Iris emerges from the covers and puts her head on Barry's shoulder peering at the phone.

"What's up?"

"Look..." Barry says selecting the message.

"... What? Who are they?"

"Those... those are my parents. They're threatening to kill my parents unless I go to my house..."

"What? You've gotta call the police."

"I can't they said they'd kill them if any police show up. What... what am I gonna do? I can't... I-"

"Barry. This is your call to action." Iris says getting up and standing before him. "This is what you were given your speed powers for! You've gotta go there and save your mom and dad!"

"I know I know but... look at them. They've got some kinda weird sci-fi guns and armour. These guys are freak supervillains like on TV."

"And you're a superhero, Barry. You've gotta go back there now."

"I'm gonna need to get something with some friction resistance to stop myself from burning up on the journey."

"I've got some repurposed Kevlar around here. Works great for making authentic looking Metal Gear cosplays."

"Okay... let's do this."

Barry uses his super speed to start making a costume grabbing his running shoes as he starts to make the Kevlar into a costume for himself taking advice from Iris as he goes. He measures himself and makes sure that the costume won't restrict any movement. She hands him a makeshift helmet she's been working on to make sure it fits properly. She finds a pair of red fingerless gloves. Iris then takes the outfit to a back room where she quickly spray paints the whole thing red and adds a few final details.

She hands him the finished outfit.

"What's up with the lightning bolt?"

"Well, you're kinda like a human lightning bolt now so y'know, perfect for your symbol."

"But, I'm not a superhero."

"You are now. Now squeeze your butt into that thing and give me a twirl." She smirks and slaps his ass.

"Down, girl," Barry says smiling at her. He puts the costume on at lightning speed and stands before her.

"Not bad..." Iris says rather shocked at how well it suits him. "Maybe needs so more yellow but we can fix that later."

"I guess I've gotta go."

"I know. Go save the day." She says kissing him gently.

"I lo—I- I I'll see you soon." Barry stutters before running out of the room leaving a gust of the wind to blow through Iris' room leaving all his stuff behind.

* * *

 ** _Later_**

 ** _Central City, City Hall_**

Harrison Wells sits at his desk watching a feed of all the security cameras on the borders of the city on his computer intently when he sees one of them pick up the almost imperceptible movements of Barry as he enters the city at super speed.

Harrison quickly goes for his phone and makes a call.

"He's entered the city. Get ready and do not fail me."

* * *

 **Central City, Suburban Zone C**

Barry rockets up the street as he notices the massive fog cloud that covers the area. He suddenly begins to realise how he's seen no one around the entire place. Barry continues up the street towards his house. He steps onto the porch and takes a deep breath.

" _Okayokayokayokayokayokay. Let's do this._ " He thinks to himself.

He reaches out his hand to the door and opens it and steps forward only to find himself falling. Barry lands on his back from a substantial height on something that's hard. He looks around to find himself in a world of glass. Mirrors everywhere reflecting back at each other into what seems an endless abyss of reflection. Barry shakes his head as he tries to make sense of the huge structures of pure mirror that surround him until he hears a voice call from behind him.

"Nice costume kid. Take him, boys."

Barry turns to see a group of men dressed in different coloured armoured suits each holding a different weapon which they all fire at the stunned Barry before he can properly come to his senses.

* * *

 **Check back soon for the next chapter of Incandescent Legacy as the Flash battles The Rogues!**


	6. Burning

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 5**

 **"Burning"**

 **By James Brady**

* * *

Barry is hit by a blast of ice and then fire and then lightning. A boomerang hits him across the chin and a sonic blast sending him hurtling into a wall of glass which cracks as he hits it. The men leap down from a large hovering piece of glass to stand in front of the severely concussed Barry who struggles to stand. Barry tries to look at his attackers when he suddenly feels intense cold over his right hand and legs pinning him to the glass wall. He feels the blood in his veins begin to freeze up preventing him from moving.

"Make another move and I'll shatter your vocal chords." The blue and white man says aiming his freeze gun at Barry.

"Who- are you?" Barry mutters.

"It doesn't matter who we are." The blue and white man says turning away from Barry. He presses his ear communicator.

"We've got your man, Wells. You want him dead now or shall we bring him to you?" The man asks.

"... _Wells_?" Barry thinks to himself through his groggy consciousness.

* * *

 **The Allen's Home**

Henry and Nora Allen have been left in the house by the Rogues and quickly find that the door has been left open. Nora panics and rushes to close the door, only to realize that she's been exposed to the 'gas'.

"It's completely harmless..." Nora mutters as she sees there is no effect on herself as the fog comes into contact with her skin.

Henry reaches forward and closes the door quickly. "We don't want to risk it." He says sternly.

"Where have those men gone? They said they'd only let us go if Barry handed himself over." Nora says grabbing her phone and quickly dials 911.

"Hello? We need police assistance immediately, strange men have attacked us and taken our son. We need you to come as soon as possible. We live at Suburban Zone C but I'm pretty sure the gas leak is harmless. Please come quickly."

* * *

 **Meanwhile in the Mirror Dimension**

"Got it boss." The man ends the call and turns to the other Rogues. "He wants him dead, who wants to do the honors?"

Upon hearing this Barry starts to try and figure out a way out of there. He turns around to see the cracked glass wall he's pinned to seems to have his family's street inside of it. Barry musters all the strength he can and with super speed smashes the glass behind him. The Rogues hear this and turn to see Barry falling backward back into the real world.

Barry collapses out of a portal which opens on his street. To try and get a bearing of his surroundings Barry gets to his feet and starts to run in a circle becoming a human tornado which quickly blows the fog away from the street. Barry finally stops running and hears police sirens approaching the street.

Barry sees another portal opening as the Rogues step out and points their weapons at Barry.

"I'm warning you guys. I've been working out. If you try... anything I'll run away really fast." Barry says still recovering from their attack.

"What?!" Says the blue and white man confused.

"It was a joke I'm joking. Just don't shoot me or throw a boomerang at me... seriously dude what's up with boomerangs? Just throw normal stuff if you're going to make throwing stuff your thing."

"Hey, I didn't choose this gimmick." The boomerang man protests.

"He's just trying to stall us you, idiots!" The blue and white man shouts pulling out his freeze gun. "Take him out before someone sees us."

"Why did you say Wells back there?" Barry asks.

Suddenly police cars surround the group in the middle of the street as officers get out of their vehicles and aim their weapons at the group.

"Hands in the air, super friends! Put the weapons down!" The sergeant yells.

"WOAHWOAHWOAH. Let's all just calm down okay?!" Barry shouts putting his hands up.

"Screw this! Rogues, fire!"

The Rogues pull out their weapons and start shooting at the cops, only for the cops to fire back immediately.

Barry slows his breathing closes his eyes and opens them again. Barry has slowed down his perception of time as he surveys the situation. Bullets explode from the cop's guns as the Rogues fire blasts of ice, fire, lightning, mirrors, sonic energy, and boomerangs.

"Okayokayokay. Let's do this." Barry thinks to himself.

(You may want to listen to Out at the Pictures by Hot Chip while reading this next sequence btw.)

He runs to each of the cops' guns and moves the bullets so that they point to the ground. He then takes all the cops guns off of them and locks them in the back of one of the cop's cars. He then quickly turns his attention to the Rogues starting with the mirror gunman. He takes to two reflective mirrors he's shot and places them in front of the freeze gun and fire gun's respective blasts and makes sure that they reflect downwards. He then goes to the boomerangs and turns around so that they're facing back towards the boomerang man. Barry grabs take the wand out of the wand man's hand and take it apart at super speed leaving it lying on the ground. He then grabs the lightning bolt that'd been shot out of it and places it in his hand where the wand had once been. He takes the tuning fork out of the hand of the guy dressed in green as he sees the sonic blast he's just shot from his mouth using the tricked out tuning fork. Barry puts the tuning fork to his mouth and says the word, "Lol". He sees the sound go from the tuning fork out in a wave of energy and leaves that to deal with the green guy. He finally goes to the Mirror Gun guy and tries to think of a clever way to take him out before just thinking, " _screw it,_ " and punching him in the face.

Barry then goes back to where he was standing closes his eyes and breathes slowly.

Barry watches as his work unfolds before him; the freeze gun guy and the fire gun guy experience a taste of their own medicine as the fire and ice respectively hit their feet knocking them to the ground. The boomerangs fly backward and knock the boomerang guy out throwing him into a cop car. The lightning bolt explodes in the wand guy's hand knocking him to the ground. The sound wave of the word, Lol hits the green guy bursting his eardrums as well as severely confusing him and the Mirror gun guy just collapses from Barry's blow.

"Knew that guy had a glass jaw," Barry says putting his hand on his hips.

The cops all look in confused at what's just happened trying to comprehend how Barry is still standing there defiant. The police sergeant steps forward.

"On the ground, hands where I can see them!" He demands.

People begin pouring out of their houses towards the scene where they see Barry standing there in his costume. Barry sees his parents watching from the crowd looking at him confused. Barry feels their eyes all on him as the sergeant demands he gets on the ground again. Barry slowly begins to put his hands in the air as he sinks to his knees. He looks again to his parents terrified that they'll recognize him. The sergeant cuffs Barry and begins leading him towards a police car along with the rest of the Rogues who each has been arrested when a large limousine rolls up. The crowd watch as Mayor Wells exits the car followed by his bodyguards as he quickly approaches the scene.

"Let that man go, officer. Don't you know a superhero when you see one?" Wells demands.

"But Mr. Wells the man was causing a disturbance." The sergeant stammers.

"Don't be ridiculous officer. From what I've heard he stopped these armed mad men from killing your men. What kind of a reward is this?"

"Oh, of course, sir." The sergeant says taking Barry's cuffs off.

Harrison Wells approaches Barry and puts his arm around his shoulder as the two face the gathering crowd of people. "Ladies and gentlemen, what a great honor it is to have our first Central City Superhero! Give it up for... what shall we call you huh? How about... The Flash!"

The crowd all applaud as they video and photograph them. Barry begins to smile as he waves to the crowd overwhelmed by the feeling of pride. He looks to his parents who are applauding with everyone else. Barry then looks back to Harrison Wells to see him smiling at him.

Barry then watches as Wells' expression turns to a dark grimace as he says "Run, Barry, Run." The action is done by Wells so fast only Barry is able to perceive it.

Wells turns back to the crowd and continues to smile and wave as Barry stands there shocked by what he's just seen. Barry looks around shocked as he steps away from Wells. His mind is racing as he tries to figure everything out before he just takes off muttering, "I-I gotta go."

Barry leaves the city and starts to travel across the Atlantic ocean speeding over the water this time rather than falling right into it. In a matter of minutes, Barry reaches the coast of Morocco and keeps going across the continent of Africa, through Europe until he reaches Iran eventually collapsing out of exhaustion in the Zagros desert. Barry looks up to see the desert sunset as he spits sand out of his mouth.

"Coarse and rough. Gets everywhere." Barry mutters as he tries to get to his feet.

A voice behind him laughs. Barry turns to see Harrison Wells standing before him still in his smart suit he'd arrived in back in Central City.

"That was pathetic. What kind of a Flash are you? I'd heard that the Flash could traverse the face of the Earth at the speed of light. You only made it 6,300 miles before getting tired? I thought you were going to be a threat. Turns out your just a scared kid in a jumpsuit."

Barry suddenly feels himself be thrown to the ground again with Harrison standing in front of him as he gets up. Barry feels himself being punched and kicked too fast for him to retaliate.

"Why—why are you doing this?! What've I done?!" Barry pleads through a mouth quickly filling with blood.

Harrison punches him again at super speed throwing Barry to the ground again.

"Because it's all your fault Barry! And I'm here trying to save the world and you show up just to destroy it! That's why I had the Rogues lure you out." Harrison grabs Barry by the arm. "And that's why I'm going to break your wrist!"

Barry feels a piercing pain rocket through his arm causing him to collapse onto the ground yelling from the worse pain he's ever felt. Harrison leaps onto him and begins repeatedly punching his face into the ground spraying his suit with blood.

"Ahahahahaha! It's all your fault Barry and I hate you for it!" Harrison laughs hysterically.

Harrison gets to his feet, pats himself down before reaching down and picking the almost unconscious Barry up. Barry murmurs something before spitting blood into Harrison's face.

"It'll all be over soon Barry, but first, I need to show you something."

While holding Barry in his arms Harrison begins to run faster than Barry even though possible until the world around them becomes a blur and fades away to nothingness. Harrison carries Barry through a stream of what looks like pure energy all around them in everything moving all at the same time with nothing but speed to guide them. Harrison takes Barry into the speed force faster and faster they go until the eventually arrive at their destination.

Barry's black eyes open to find himself in what looks like a ruined abandoned city where dark clouds cover the skies and broken down cars litter the streets.

"Look Barry. Look at what you did."

Barry looks up to see a huge crumbling statue of The Flash.

* * *

 **Check back soon for another issue of Incandescent Legacy!**


	7. I Am Time

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 6**

 **"I am Time."**

 **By James BradY**

* * *

 **2098**

The rusty pliers attempt to unhinge a plate on the industrial masterpiece that is the Cosmic Treadmill. The pliers buckle under the pressure the tired Theodore Thawne puts on them. He tries again applying greater strength, the plate's edge begins to slowly wrench away only for Thawne to suddenly be hurled into the wall from a bolt of lightning.

His son Eobard rushes into the dusty old room upon hearing the sudden crackle of lightning.

"Father, father!" Eobard cries rushing to his side.

Theodore coughs slowly getting to his feet with his son's aid. "Damn thing has some kind of residual energy trapped inside of it. Gonna make this trickier than I imagined."

Eobard helps his father out of the room and out into the hallway. He brings his father a small cup of grayish metallic tasting liquid which he thankfully sips. The two sit on the marble steps as they look at the ragged Flash memorabilia which adores every inch of the museum.

"What happened to the world Father? Surely I'm old enough to know now..." Eobard sighs.

Theodore looks to his son and rests his hand on his small head.

"Yes... yes you are. As my father recounted to me things were... normal until 2016 when these people began to appear. Superheroes they called them with powers and abilities far greater than any normal man and with them came strange new age. The Flash was one of these Superheroes and he protected the Blue Valley area where we now live. It's unclear about what happened exactly but in the 2020's the Flash and his fellow heroes created The Cosmic Treadmill in order to prevent some kind of crisis by traveling through time to stop it. Instead, he doomed us all. Cosmic Lightning storms broke out over the planet and eventually everyone perished under their constant bombardment and now all that's left is the black clouds and us. But as long as there's us and we're together, Eobard there is hope. We can change this."

"But, if the treadmill caused all this why would it help us save everyone?"

"Because I'll figure out what they did wrong and fix it and if I don't fix it, I'll bet my ass you can." He says pointing at Eobard's chest. "Now let's go fix what those superheroes couldn't."

* * *

 **2125**

Barry lies before the statue while Harrison stands over his badly beaten body.

"'Let's go fix what those superheroes couldn't,' he said. And that's what we tried to do for years. Tried to fix your bloody mess Barry and I did. I tried my... damnedest to fix what you did but look at you here now. Alive with superpowers and a fancy costume exactly like I'd always feared. And look, they tread you like a god, even built a national shrine to your accomplishments."

"Wh-what accomplishments?" Barry mutters through a mouth of broken teeth. "'M just- a clerk in a pharmacy..."

"You become a God to them, Barry. You vanquish criminals and battle cosmic forces amongst the 21st-century pantheon. This is what you do."

"I- only put on a costume to go save my parents. Those men... gonna kill them."

"They weren't going to kill your parents. They were supposed to kill you but that didn't exactly go to plan."

"They worked for- you?"

"Oh get a grip, Allen. You think I went to the effort of putting through the Central City project because I love board meetings and overseeing public renovations? I did it because I saw it as a way of making you impossible. Create a city without crime or human error and it'll reduce the need for a superhero but you came along anyway and once that happened I couldn't exactly have a backup plan."

"I'm still so confused. Where... are we?"

"2125, Central City. Your super heroics are on display." Harrison says raising his hands. "Look upon thy works and despair."

"... I? How?"

Harrison removes a small golden key from his breast pocket.

"I'll show you."

Harrison takes Barry into the Flash museum and leads him up the stairs to a large room. Inside is the still gleaming Cosmic Treadmill. Wells climbs onto the Treadmill and puts the golden key into the lock and turns it. The lights turn on and a screen is revealed showing their current point in the timeline.

"Somewhere around the 2020's you use this machine in order to help you go back in time and stop some kind of crisis event but you disappeared and the world was set upon by ravenous cosmic lightning storms which destroyed towns, cities, even countries for about 20 years leaving the world covered in black clouds and desolate. My parents were some of the few who have survived in this wasteland and they raised me here in your mess. But guess what Barry. I did it, I, Eobard Thawne fixed your machine."

* * *

 **2107**

Eobard Thawne hoists his backpack filled with scrap metal and resources he's been scavenging for the past hours over his shoulders as he heads back to the museum he calls home.

"Don't make it bad... Take a sad song... and make it better... remember to let her into your heart... then you can start to make it better." He sings to himself trying to remember the rest of the words to that old song his mother sang to him.

In the background, he suddenly hears a rumbling coming closer and closer. Eobard turns to see a group of men on motorcycles riding down the path towards the center of the city. Eobard quickly rushes to the pavement and cowers behind an abandoned car. He waits till the motorcycles have passed him before looking up to see them heading down the road towards the museum. His eyes widen and he starts to run. He runs till his feet are red and sore and there's no more breath left in his lungs. He sees the motorcycles parked in a row outside the museum and runs till he reaches the base of the statue. He sinks to his knees when he sees them, his mother and father laid lifeless beneath the statues.

Through the blistering tears streaming down his cheeks Eobard curses himself for not being fast enough until he looks up slowly.

'You were fast enough weren't you...' He thinks to himself.

He hears noises coming from the museum and gets to his feet taking out a crowbar from his rucksack. He slowly creeps towards the museum where he peers inside. 7 men dressed head to toe in grubby Flash costumes which appear to be handmade loot the museum in a gleeful frenzy.

"Look at this boys! We've found the jackpot! I knew that this wasn't a bust ahahaha!" A man wearing a yellow version of the Flash costume yells holding handful's of golden Flash rings from the gift shop. "We've finally found our home, this is where we're supposed to be!"

Eobard watches the men continue on their looting spree through the museum as he creeps inside and heads towards his parent's bedroom in the museum's quiet room. He opens his a crate under his parent's bed and finds it; the Rogues' arsenal. The freeze gun, the heat gun, the wizard's wand, the mirror gun, trick boomerangs, the hypnotic pipe.

* * *

 **2125**

Eobard leads Barry onto the treadmill.

"Start running."

"I'm too weak Wells... please just-"

"I told you, Barry, my name is Eobard Thawne. Harrison Wells died years ago now get running."

Thawne turns on the machine and Barry forces his legs to start working again. The machine begins to spark with energy as Barry begins to speed up. He feels the energy beginning to overcome him healing his broken and bruised body. The energy consumes Barry as he continues to run faster and faster into the speed force itself.

* * *

 **2107**

The Flash Gang leader sits on a throne made up of Skulls from Gorilla Grodd's lair. "This is it, boys. That Superman gang think they're too good for us? Bah who needs em, we're Flashes now and The Flash could beat Superman any day of the week. Once we've looted out this place we'll head back to Metropolis and show those boys who the real heroes of The Free Lands are! Hahahaha!"

The men all cheer.

"For the glory of the FLASH!" They all cry.

"What glory?"

The men all turn to see Eobard standing there holding the heat gun and freeze gun with the rest of the Rogues' arsenal holstered to his belt.

The men all quickly pull their guns on Eobard outnumbering him.

"Put down the gun, boy. This can only turn out badly for you." The leader says.

"The Flash is not a figure of glory. He destroyed the world you, idiots. He unleashed the lighting storms that destroyed everything!"

"The Flash was a hero you little #&^% like us. Put down the guns."

"What kind of hero kills two defenseless people?!" Eobard cries in anger.

"The kind that's about to kill a third if he doesn't put down the guns."

Eobard slowly lowers the guns to the ground. As he gets back up again he takes out the Weather Wizard's wand and puts a lightning bolt through the leader's chest with one hand and tosses a boomerang which deftly disarms each of the men with the other. The men look at each other and race for the exit. Once outside they look to find their motorcycles all burnt to a crisp. They look around to see Eobard slowly walking outside playing a tune on the pipe. The men hear the music and are sent into a hypnotic daze.

"From now on you're working for me." Eobard says trying to sound as stern as possible. "Start out by burying my parents outside the museum. Once you're finished come back inside. You're going to help me fix the cosmic treadmill and once that's done, we've got the world to save."

"Yes, sir." The gang members say hypnotically.

"Oh, and burn those horrible Flash costumes and find something better to wear."

Eobard returns to the museum where he looks down on the body of the man in the yellow version of the Flash costume. The course scheme is a total reverse of the original Flash costume.

Eobard reaches down and slowly pulls the mask off the body and pulls it on over his head.

 _"_ _I am Time, the great destroyer of the world."_  
― Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, The Bhagavad Gita

* * *

 **Check back soon for another issue of Incandescent Legacy!**


	8. Hold On

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Part 7**

 **"Hold On"**

 **By James Brady**

* * *

 **California**

Iris West lingers around her apartment, her phone pressed to her ear. She leaves another voicemail,

"Barry, please call or text me. Are your parents okay? Are you okay? After all this time you were in my life for just a split second... and now you're gone again... Call me." She hangs up the phone and slumps down in her chair. Her eyes catch on the bag Barry left behind in his rush. Out of curiosity Iris checks inside the bag to see plane tickets with an open return to the Blue Valley airport. She picks up the tickets, packs herself a small bag, gets dressed and calls an Uber to take her to LAX Airport.

* * *

 **Central City**

Police Vans roll up outside the station and the doors are opened to release the handcuffed Rogues. They exit the van as one of them begins to whistle. The cops who are transporting them to the holding cells suddenly fall unconscious allowing one of the time travellers to grab the keys used to handcuff them and free the rest.

"Nice going hiding that hypnotic whistle in your mouth." The blue and white Rogue says to the whistler.

"After what that # &^%$ Eobard has put us through under that thing I'm not letting him get the one up on us anymore."

"Yep and now he's gone and we're here. He thinks this is his city now huh?! Let's leave a message."

The Rogues all nod in agreement before returning their weapons from a large crate in the back of the Police Van.

* * *

 **Elsewhere**

On the outskirts of Central City a funeral procession continues away from all the madness of the day as Leonard Snart carries his sister's casket along with his friends as their few remaining family members watch from the gravesite. They place the grave in the plot and begin to lower it as the pastor solemnly reads from some religious text. Leonard feels the warm dirt in his hand before reaching out and pouring it into her grave. His eyes begin to water as his friends do the same for him.

He feels his friend put his hand on his shoulder as Snart solemnly listens to the sermon.

"I've got nothing left Mick..." Snart sighs.

"It might seem harsh now Leo, we're all here for you, you know that right?"

Leonard turns around to see his friends, Mick, George, Mark, Harltey and Sam all standing before him. They all give him hopefully and reassuring looks. Leonard wipes a solitary tear from his eyes and embraces his brothers.

"Thank you..."

* * *

 **The Speed Force**

Barry feels Eobard's arms on his shoulders as the two continue to tear through the sheer energy that is the Speed Force. Barry looks to his left as he sees time being shed away, he sees Central City being torn to pieces by electric lighting storms just as Eobard had described before reverting to it's original state in the 2020's when the vision he can see of the time line begins to flee from view only to be replaced by a massive blur of violence and connective energy. The two continue to run backwards as this blur seems to encompass the entirety of this era of history.

"Don't slow down now Barry. If you fall into that thing you'll fall directly into the black hole of time you created for yourself. Try and keep up now."

The two speed up and continue on through the time stream until Barry finds himself standing in a dingy looking city during the early hours of the night. Barry and Eobard's bodies have an almost ghostlike quality where they're completely invisible and intangible to the world around them. Neon lights cover every surface as rats scuttle through the streets. People dressed in flamboyant colours flicker about the streets on drugs while women of the night and pushers hang around every corner.

"Where the hell are we?" Barry mutters.

"Blue Valley, 1996. As you can see it's had some renovations in recent years. This was the city your parents moved to Barry. A lower class costal drug haven that thrived on the lack of regulation. High unemployment and high crime rates, this place almost made Gotham City seem sanitary. Now that you've enjoyed the local flavour how about we find out what changed?"

Eobard takes Barry by the neck again and drags him to the City Hall where he sees a local pencil pushing politician bringing a prostitute through the halls of the building to his desk. He swings open his desk and the two fumble inside. He tells her to get ready as he makes his way into his personal bathroom.

Eobard turns to Barry.

"This gentleman here is Harrison Wells known as 'Harry' to most the girls of the city. A corrupt local government chairman who has allowed himself to easily assume too much power this city. He's made friends with pretty much every drug cartel and gang in this city and had allowed them to run as rampant as long as it kept the peace between the gangs. Despite the fact that Blue Valley had been pushed by the state governor to be the testing base for the Central City project but Mr. Wells didn't want it ruining his friendship with his very generous friends. So I did something about it."

Barry watches as in a bolt of lightning Harrison Wells who is stood in the mirror suddenly evaporates as an earlier version of Eobard takes his place standing in the mirror.

"What... what the hell did you do?" Barry mutters confused by what he's just seen.

"I erased him. I fixed the Treadmill and not only did it allow me to time travel but it also gave me your unique abilities which had been stored inside of the machine. 2002 was the furthest I could go back to attempt to prevent the events of the future and due to your little cock up. It took me a while to formulate my plan but once I knew what needed to be done I knew that I had to rid the city of crime in order to prevent the occurrence of a crime fighter to happen and thus I erased Harrison Wells and took his place in history. From that moment on I changed Wells' public image and began backing social outreach programs and increased law enforcement on the docks. Soon the state governor began pushing for the Central City project to be applied to Blue Valley and I graciously accepted it. It was years of work but in 2002 it was fully implemented. I'd done it, I'd made the city of the future, a fully self sustained city with no crime and no problems, a modern day Utopia."

"You murdered a man."

"And look how much good it did."

Eobard takes Barry on a time travelling tour of Central City's growth, the power lines being built, the mass slum clearance and promoting businesses to invest in the city of the future. He stops outside of the Allen's home as they move into the city in 2002 along with millions of others do the same. Poor families being given the chance at a new life. They watch as a young Barry Allen plays outside in the garden with his parents moving their belongings into their idyllic new home.

"And here they are. The family of the future, so young so full of excitement at the start of their new lives in Utopia that they thought they'd never have. And look at their bright young son, the child of this new day. How perfect."

"Why're you showing me this?"

"Tell me how you got your powers or I'll erase mommy and daddy from existence."

"What the hell, why would-"

"How did you do it? Was it some kind of experiment? Did you pay someone? Did you pay the Super-Man for his DNA?"

"I-I- I don't-"

"What does your mother look like Barry? Try and picture her in your mind's eye?"

Barry's mind immediately races for an image of his mother but finds it blurry and confusing.

"W...what've you done?!"

"I've erased her, just slightly, just a little bit. Just to make you realise what I can do."

Barry grabs Eobard.

"Stay away from her!" He growls, scared and confused by what just happened.

"Then tell me how you got your powers!" Eobard demands.

"Return her to normal!"

In a fury Barry lashes out and punching Eobard before driving him forwards into the Speed Force and away from his family. He travels into the future.

"NO BARRY!" Eobard yells. "You'll force us into the time stream black hole! We'll be erased from everything you can't-!"

But it's too late.

* * *

 **Central City. Now**

The Rogues march through the city; blow torching cars, freezing buildings causing all the glass to shatter. People run for their lives as they ransack banks taking whatever they please. Their spree is interrupted by the arrival of the local law enforcement but due to the entire lack of crime in the city the Rogues easily trounce the officer's efforts to contain their rampage.

* * *

 **The Speed Force**

Barry and Eobard travel through into the forgotten zone as Barry sees himself as the hero of Central City, saving the day alongside the Justice League, inspiring others to use their speed powers to become Scarlet Speedsters like himself, all up until the Crisis event. Barry is shocked from the few glimpses of what he sees of the Crisis. He sees himself running, faster and faster as some kind of great being begins to devour all of reality... Barry is shocked and terrified. He quickly turns and runs backwards just as he sees all the life from his future's face suddenly drain leaving nothing but a running skeleton which too then drifts away to being dust in the wind.

The two land with a thud on a rooftop. Eobard grabs Barry and pins him down. The two seem to have finally re attained their physical bodies as they look around themselves.

"Where are we now?!" Eobard demands to know. "I don't know how on Earth you got past 2002 but you could have gotten us killed you idiot."

"Shut up, look."

Eobard looks towards the sea where he sees a thundercloud begin to gather as it nears the city.

"It wasn't supposed to rain today." Barry says.

"This is the day of the electrical power outage. This is..." Eobard mutters as he slowly begins to clock on.

"The day I got my powers."

 **Check back soon for another issue of Incandescent Legacy!**


	9. What I'd Be Without You

**DC Redux Presents: The Flash**

 **Incandescent Legacy Finale**

 **"What I'd be Without You" By James Brady**

* * *

 **Central City, 4 years ago**

The awkward bus stop bench doesn't help Barry feel any more comfortable as he sits listening to the sobbing of the young woman dressed head-to-toe in sparkly spandex next to him. Her awkward heaving for the past 10 minutes eventually gets to him and he reaches into his bag to find a spare packet of tissues. He pulls one out and hands it to her.

"Did uh the ComicCon not go too well?" Barry asks.

The young woman slowly looks over to Barry and sees the tissue being held out towards her.

"... Thanks..." She reaches for the tissue and begins dabbing at her eyes. "It was great it was... just this... #^%$*&ing guy who I met online was there and I'd come to see him and he seemed really sweet but... he was just such an asshole in person and... I'd come all this way to meet him and he seemed so perfect but made me feel like #&^ and I... god I'm so sorry for just crying here like an idiot..."

"Jeeze, so like how far did you travel to meet this jerkwad?"

"From California..."

"You came 2,500 miles for him to treat you like that? What a #*&^."

"I know I'm just an idiot I can't believe he could toss me aside like that."

"You're not an idiot, he's just an worthless human being from the sounds of it. Look I doubt there's gonna be another comic con here, it was just used to drum up interest in Central City and seeing as I'd hate for you to go home with such a bad taste in your mouth, there's a pretty great pizza place down the street if you wanna grab a slice."

"Wouldn't you miss your bus?"

"I can catch another one. You're not busy are you?"

"I was probably just going to go cry in my hotel room so I guess not..."

"Sweet, I'm starving."

"Same I cannot afford Comic Con food prices anyway. Um, I'm Iris by the way." She says smiling at Barry.

"Barry." He smiles back as the two leave the bus stop.

"Barry, so what's it like living in the City of the Future?"

* * *

 **Central City, Now**

Iris West walks down the same street of the future where she first met Barry as lightning bolts crackle over head and the citizens of Central City rush around looting businesses and department stores. Iris notices a squad of cop cars parked outside the shopping mall. The cops are either knocked unconscious, frozen or suffering from third degree burns. Iris grabs a taser off one of their bodies and sneaks into the mall to see the Rogues holding a group of people hostage robbing each of them of their belongings.

Iris slowly makes her way towards one of the time travelling criminals through the kneeling crowd.

"Hold it there asshole!" She yells springing towards him taser raised. "Give back what you've stolen or I'm putting 20,000 volts through your sorry ass."

"Hahaha! That's cute sweet heart." He smirks.

"Just kill her, wanna get as much cash as possible before Mr. Mayor gets back. Need go get this done asap."One of the other Rogues spits.

Iris hears murmurings in the crowd after hearing him say Mr. Mayor. Iris twigs at this and slowly slips her iPhone into her hand and starts filming.

"'Mayor' Thawne can get screwed, our contract with him was up the second he left the City after that Flash guy. Way I see it the way he's been scamming these people for years with his Central City project we're not doing anything he hasn't done for the past 14 years."

The crowd's murmuring continues to get louder as Iris slowly raises her phone camera.

"Say cheese boys, whoever this Thawne guy is gonna love hearing you mouth off about him on CNN tonight." Iris says smirking.

"Why you little-! Flame her!" The blue and white guy yells.

The flame thrower Rogue fires his weapon and is about to scorch Iris and the crowd of people around her when a lightning bolt suddenly rockets in from the roof blasting the flame thrower guy away. The open roof allows in a powerful thick fog into the mall masking the citizens from the Rogues.

"Quick to the exit!" Iris yells and the citizens all rush out of the building. The Rogues fire off their weapons blindly as lightning bolts continue to blast into the mall. Iris leaps towards the fallen Flame Thrower Gun and picks it up as she stalks through the thick fog trying to find the Rogues. She sees a boomerang fly past her face taking out two of the Rogues, then a sonic blast heading overhead which takes out another. She suddenly sees one of them appear out of the fog running towards with a boomerang in hand only for him to be frozen before he can reach her. The fog slowly filters out of the room as Iris looks to see a man making his way toward her. He helps her to her feet as she pants from the adrenaline.

"Don't worry Miss. I'm Leonard Snart, but you can call me Captain Cold." He turns back to the rest of the men dressed in the traditional Rogues costumes.

"Meet: Heatwave, The Pied Piper, Captain Boomerang, Weather Wizard and The Mirror Master. These phonies" Cold says pointing towards the time travelling Rogues "may think they're the scourge of Central City, but they've not seen nothing yet."

Cold looks over Iris' shoulder to see a few of the future Rogues trying to escape.

"C'mon boys, lets show em how it's done!"

"HOO-RAH!" The Rogues all yell in unison before charging off into battle.

Iris raises her eyebrows. "... Alrighty then..." She mutters.

* * *

 **2016, A Few Weeks Before, The Birth of the Flash**

Barry and Eobard watch as the thunder clouds roll in towards the city.

"It wasn't supposed to rain today." Barry mutters.

Barry turns to Eobard. "A lightning bolt shot through the window, hit me and knocked over a cupboard dousing me with chemicals. I was taken to hospital with third degree burns and badly damaged tissue due to the chemical compounds. I was done for, but then I woke up. I'd been unconscious most of the night with Doctors saying it was a miracle I'd survived. I quickly realised everything about me was different, I was fast, more alert, my body healed faster, I could think faster. That's my secret origin Eobard. Tonight is how I got my powers Eobard, it wasn't some scheme or prophecy, it was a freak #&^%*$ accident."

"... You have got to be # &^ing me. You got your powers from the weather?!" Eobard yells trying to resist tearing his hair out. "All this time and meticulous planning against... a freak occurrence?!"

"That's just it Eobard. You think I'm the some prophesized evil?! I wish, if I was prophesised that'd make sense, but no, it was just a damn accident."

"You don't deserve this you worthless lump! I spent years and you get this all for being in the right place and the right time?! Gah!"

Eobard punches Barry across the face with all his might. He floors the scarlet speedster.

"Take it then." Barry coughs. "When the bolt comes stand in it's way. Take this from me I don't want it I never wanted it! You were right Eobard. All I do is cause mayhem and death..." Barry says through his bloody mouth.

"... And if I die?" Eobard asks.

"It's worth a shot isn't it? If you die at least it'll stop me from becoming the Flash, it'll save everyone from the Crisis."

Eobard considers this.

"Very well then." He replies.

The two look up to see the cloud slowly hovering over the building.

"It'll be here any moment." Barry says slumping himself a small wall. "Take it Eobard, I just want my old life back..."

Eobard looks at Barry benevolently for the first time before he leaves. He speeds down stairs to the lab. Eobard sees the earlier version of Barry sitting at his desk, Barry gets a text and reaches over to pick up his phone.

Meanwhile on the roof the future version of Barry receives the same text. He wearily checks it.

 _Iris: I love you so much x_

Barry suddenly feels his hands shaking as he reads it. A warm glow inside of him lighting up as an unstoppable smile spreads across his face. He feels his mind race to the images of the two of them in California together, finally seeing each other after all that time. He thinks about how these powers gave him that opportunity, the opportunity for change. He slowly closes the phone and puts it back in his pocket.

" _No... you're not taking her from me._ " He thinks to himself.

Back in the lab Eobard watches intently as the lightning bolt blasts out of the sky and fires towards the unwitting Barry. Eobard is about to spring towards the bold and catch it when suddenly he's swept up by a force running far faster than him. He's pushed through the window and up into the air. The force carrying him leaps from the window and in a FLASH it runs up the lightning bolt and into the thundercloud itself!

"BARRY WHAT'RE YOU DOING?!" Eobard roars.

"I'm not letting you take her from me!" Barry yells. "You're not controlling my life anymore Thawne!"

Time itself begins to split apart them as they run through the cloud and into... The Time Black Hole! They run through what the empty matter darkness that surrounds them slowly growing on their bodies.

Eobard's body is quickly being consumed by the darkness of the Time Black Hole as he tries desperately to keep up with Barry as the two continue to try and run through anti-matter, emptiness, a void of every known concept. The blistering speed of light that they took with them when they ran faster than it is slowly running out. Eobard's very matter is beginning to fade as Barry is only doing slightly better than him.

"HELP ME BARRY PLEASE. Don't let me fall, don't let me -"

Barry tries desperately to reach out to Thawne their fingers just glancing off each other. Eobard screams and cries as he's devoured by the very essence of what he's been running from his entire life, the very essence of what he's fought to avoid.

Barry looks down in despair at Thawne's disappearance but continues on going but he feels it encroaching upon him too. He begins to slow as he too starts to fade into nothingness.

"I'm sorry Iris... I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you..." Barry whispers.

"Hold on." A voice tells him.

"Wh—who?"

Barry looks up with what's left of his vision to see himself, about ten years older wearing a more futuristic version of his current costume.

"It's me Barry. I was from the year 2026, what happened in the future was all my fault... but it doesn't have to be yours. Just give me your hand."

Barry reaches out towards himself but his hand has already faded.

"C'mon you can do this. You're not gone yet. Think of all those who need you right now Barry. The city is tearing itself apart. They need saving and you're the only one fast enough to do it."

"I'm... I'm their hero." Barry says calmly looking up into his future's eyes.

His hand suddenly re-appears and he grasps his older version's hand. He feels himself suddenly be pulled from the hellish emptiness and into the speed force. He feels his body become one again as he sees speedsters from all across space and time zipping through it each of them saving the day, being heroes.

"This Barry, this is what we create. This is our legacy but unfortunately that legacy could all go if you follow the same path that I did. In the year 2026 a Crisis comes to take Earth, in trying to stop it I created the future you've seen but it doesn't have to be that way Barry, you can stop it but it may very well take a dire sacrifice, one I wasn't willing to achieve."

"You mean... I've gotta die?"

"Not necessarily but... you've got to do what's right. 2026, get yourself and heroes like you ready for it, because it will shake the very fabric of everything that's ever existed."

"... Okay."

"Now." The future Flash pulls a golden key with the Flash emblem on it out of his pocket. "Just in case."

Barry takes the key in his hand and nods.

"This is the last you'll see of me. I expended the last of my energy sending myself here during the crisis. Aidios." The future Flash says saluting Barry before he dissolves away into the speed force.

Barry is left in the speed force alone as he looks down to the key.

"Just in case, we're going to need to start over again."

Eobard's eyes drift open as he bathes in the glow of the open sky. His eyes look into the gaping ray of sunshine that looms through the haze of dark that surrounds him. He sighs as the black clouds swallow it again and he gets up from the path of ash he's found rest in. He looks back to his current situation and scans the surrounding area, rocks, rusty machinery, card board or something. He continues on through the wreckage of the old building scattering small piles of rubble with a long metal pole as he goes. He hears a whistle of wind and raises his head. His eyes fixate on an old large machine on the edge of the room. He wanders towards it and examines the rear, quickly finding a nut to unscrew and the metal grating of the machine pops open. He shines his flashlight inside as he scopes the machinery in search of anything that maybe useful. Fleeting glimmers of a reflective surface inside the old machine draws Eobard's attention. He reaches out and grasps the tiny shimmering object and brings it down into his palm. He sits back from the machine and looks towards his open palm.

A small golden key lies in his open hand, a lightning bolt logo emblazoned across it. Eobard's eyes suddenly widen in shock as he leaps from where he was sat and rushes down the road.

Barry watches from afar as Eobard leaves a trail of dirt in his wake. He smiles towards as the excited kid goes.

"Just in case I don't make it right for him." Barry whispers to himself.

* * *

 **Central City, 2016.**

 __Tweets:_

 _#CentralCityWTF Lightning storms have FINALLY stopped. Think it's safe to go outside now_ _J_

\- _10:17 am_

 _#CentralCityWTF Things seem to have calmed down here. People are helping put out the fires and the cops have regained control!_

\- 10:39 am

 _#CentralCityWTF Seen a poster of Harrison Wells with FRAUD painted on it Turns out he was some kinda crook the whole time!_

 _2016 has been crazy for politics after all :/_

\- 11:04 am

No sign of those guys with the mad weapons since last night More signs of things getting better. Who took care of them? #scarletspeedster?

\- 11:17 am

* * *

 **On the outskirts of town**

The Rogues meet in a small wear house building. Leonard Snart now adorned in his Captain Cold outfit steps forward. He holds a bottle of beer out in front of him, takes a swig and pours the rest out onto the ground.

"In her name, no innocent may die,"

"No innocent may die." The rest repeat.

"We shall not impart ourselves to use of illegal substances,"

"We shall not impart ourselves to use of illegal substances." They repeat.

"And not let anything come between us and the score."

"And not let anything come between us and the score." They repeat.

"In her name."

"In her name." They repeat.

They each take a drink of their own beer bottles before pouring the rest out onto the floor.

"Now let show this town who the Rogues really are."

* * *

 **Mayor Wells' Manor House**

The Police knock down the door and enter the house. They slowly make their way through calling for Jane Wells to reveal herself. They enter the bedroom where they find Jane sat on their bed staring at the holographic map Wells' phone has projected into the air of the timeline. She's staring crazed at the holographic timeline.

"What the hell is this?!" The cops shout as they enter the room.

Before they can react Jane has grabbed a gun and shoots the two of them dead. Blood starts to pour across their designer carpet as Jane slowly gets up and walks across the ground.

"It was all him..." Jane murmurs to herself. "It was all him..."

She kneels down by the cops dead bodies and dips her fingers into the gushing blood. She slowly draws a zigzag across her face in the shape of the Flash emblem.

"For the glory of the Flash..." She murmurs before getting dressed, packing a small bag and putting as much cash as she can find into it. She then calmly gets into her car and leaves town.

 **Barry's apartment**

The door creeks open as the morning light dawns over the city as Barry makes his way inside. He finds Iris sat on his bed on his laptop.

"Oh... Barry. Look I didn't really have anywhere to go and I thought you'd be home and when you weren't, I just kindaaaaaa let myself in, please don'-"

Barry walks over and hugs her close to him. The two embrace before Barry collapses onto the mattress.

"It's okay, Iris. You're exactly what I needed to see right now. You're face, you're eyes... Just you y'know?" He sighs slightly delirious.

Iris reaches down and kisses Barry.

"Did you get rid of those crazy super villain dudes?"

"Yeah they're back in the future where they belong."

"How're your parents?"

"Little shook up but basically okay. I'll go see them properly tomorrow."

"Barry, it is tomorrow. Have you not seen what's been going on outside?" Iris asks excitedly.

"Haven't really had the time..."

"It's incredible, people are picking up so quickly. With Mayor Wells and the Central City project supposedly being decommissioned without him the businesses that'd ruled the city are pulling out. People are making new businesses every few seconds. It's like there's some kind of creative independent surge suddenly erupting after what's happened last night. Kids are out in the street celebrating in colourful costumes. It's like Christmas and Halloween and mardi gras at the same time out there on a Tuesday morning! Do you wanna go join in?"

"... That's... incredible Iris, but... I just wanna spend time with you at the moment."

"... Okay." Iris says smiling into Barry's eyes.

The two kiss as in the distance the sun rises over Central City shedding fresh new light on a brand new day of opportunity.

* * *

 **Epilogue:**

 **Los Angeles**

A skinny read haired kid sits at the side of the football pitch watching the jocks do their warm up routines while pretty cheerleaders chat and giggle together. The skinny ginger makes his way to the bench he usually sits himself as he pulls out his phone to check social media. He sees the first article reading, _Scarlet Speedster Saves Central City From Time Travelling Super Villains_. The bright colours of the Flash's costume spring into his mind.

He silently gasps, "Woah..."

* * *

 **The End**

Author's note:

 _Hey, cheers for following my Flash run to the end. This 8 issue miniseries is all I've planned for this run but if I get a positive enough response to this series I'll consider continuing it for another arc._


End file.
